shot by an arrow
by Ghosttail
Summary: some of the fairy tail members are going on vacation! but it doesn't turn out to be the most relaxing. and with the threat of a snowstorm, what will Lucy do if she has to wait it out with natsu?
1. Chapter 1

Shot by an arrow

SHIPS IN THIS FANFIC:

Mostly NaLu,

some gruvia,

Some jerza

a little gaLe

bare with me, this is only my first fanfic so my writing skills aren't sharp.

* * *

CHAPTER 1

Late March, if she thought about it. Of course, quests always messed up Lucy's sense of time.

And then there's was all her guild members. All her life, Lucy had never met-no, imagined that she would meet people that were so…_bizarre_! But, despite their out-of-the-ordinary personalities, they were the most amazing friends Lucy ever had.

Her friends were who the blonde was walking off to meet. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Levy, and all the others in that guild. Lucy Heartfilla skipped happily on the ledge of the river as a man from a boat warned her to be careful. She waved and told him that she'd be fine. Finally, a big building with the signature mark of fairy tail loomed into sight. Lucy sighed with relief at the peacefulness of it all.

Until she heard a cry of indignation and a battered Gray flew into her, full speed. Lucy squealed in surprise as the bundle landed with a _oomph_. "Oi, gray, watch it!" Lucy scolded him as she stood and brushed herself off. Gray ignored her. "Why, Natsu's gonna get it now," he snarled before stamping back into the guild. Lucy shook her head. As usually, Gray was in a battle with Natsu. It wouldn't be long until Erza whipped them into shape. As if on cue, two boyish cries rang out and the sound of a woman barking at them loudly.

Lucy walked though the doors of the guild.

Inside, the dark haired boy that had smashed into Lucy earlier and a pink (no, more salmon) haired boy Lucy knew well as Natsu were being dragged off by a enraged erza. "As always, they're causing trouble," The girl clicked her tongue.

A petite female with blue hair approached her. Lucy smiled at her.

"Morning Levy! Are they ready to go?" Lucy asked, gesturing to what looked like Natsu and Gray having to sit in the corner. It was a funny scene, even with Erza watching over them with an evil glint in her eyes. Levy nodded. "Yea, they are. They started fighting over if to bring a sweater or not," Levy replied with a look of defeat. Lucy rolled her eyes.

She couldn't believe that they were fighting over something as stupid as that! Oh wait, this was _Gray and Natsu._ Yes, she could believe it.

Lucy turned her gaze to her friend beside her who was lightly twisting a foot into the wooden floorboards. "Levy," she called. Levy turned her head. "Sorry, Lu-chan, what was that?" Lucy hid a smirk. "Levy, it's up to him if he wants to come."

Some of the members of the guild were going to beach for a little trip, It was a choice, people going would have to pay, and knowing that Mirajane set it up made people partly suspicious, seeing Mirajane as being a very big match maker. For Lucy, this was a great idea to go on a vacation, and some of the girls agreed. Seeing as a few the girls were going, some of the boys grumbled about it boring without the females and signed up as well.

The people going were Lucy, Gray, Natsu, Erza, Wendy, Levy, Juvia (who only signed up because a certain iceboy did as well), and Mirajane herself. Her siblings; Elfman and Lisanna, were off on a quest, and would miss the trip, much to many of the members disappointment. The only person who hadnt decided to stay or go was Gajeel.

Even if Levy said nothing, it was clear that the iron dragon's choice was bothering her. She had been spaced out since the trip was introduced. And that's how she was now, until Lucy nudged her. "Hey, Levy-chan, I think he'll come." Levy looked up in surprise. "W-who?" She stuttered with a flushed face. The blonde-haired girl laughed. "You're worried about Gajeel, I can sense it. C'mon, he has today." Levy shook out her head and nodded. "Yea, what-ever, I don't care." She covered quickly, hiding her pink cheeks. Lucy laughed. She watched Gajeel, who was munching on a iron plate. _maybe I should talk to him… _she wondered.

Suddenly a loud "Luushhhheeeee!" Sounded from across the room and broke Lucy's thoughts. Apparently, Gray and Natsu's time out was finished. Natsu stopped in front of her, scarf still trailing behind him. "Hello Natsu." Lucy sighed. She knew what he was going to say next. "Luce, how could you? I couldn't get in at all!" The teen whined immaturely. Happy, Natsu's best friend, floated over and nodded. Levy turned to her friend with a look of confusion. It was well known through the guild that Natsu constantly entered Lucy's house like it was his own. The celestial Mage started to explain. "I locked all the windows and stuck on an extra bol-"

she trailed off and watched a emotionless Gajeel stand, walk to the sign up sheet and scribble his name down. Lucy let out a breath she didn't know that she had been holding. "Well, that settles things," She smiled in triumph as the other three gave her a strange look. "_Natsuuu_~ Lucy's saying something weird!" Happy complained to Natsu, who only nodded in understanding.

Levy looked at the ground. Lucy leaned over the small girl and whispered, "he just signed up." To which Levy's face brightened, confusing the fire Mage and blue cat even further. "Hey!" Natsu pouted. "What's going on? Tell us!" "Aye!" Happy agreed and pulled the same face.

Lucy and Levy looked at eachother and giggled. "Boys," Lucy snickered and walked off. Levy followed her with a mischievous grin, leaving Natsu and Happy to stare in wonder. "Girls are weird," Natsu told Happy with a deadpan face. "Aye…" Happy agreed dumbly.

Meanwhile, Lucy was getting herself lunch at the bar, listening to Mirajane happily making conversation, gushing about the upcoming trip. "It'll be so sweet!" She smiled then winked at Lucy. "I even heard that there's going to be a ball," she purred. Lucy slowed her chewing. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked in surprise.

Mirajane gave her an innocent grin. "Oh nothing, just that I signed everyone up for it," She said in a sugar-sweet voice.

The celestial mage choked on her mouthful. "You-you _what_?!" Lucy gasped. Mirajane only smiled again. "Maybe Natsu will ask you!" She suggested.

Lucy buried her head. "Natsu doesn't dance, and he doesn't do romance. And why would I dance with him?" Lucy snapped. Mirajane sighed and turned away from Lucy. "I guess so," she decided, though inwardly, she wasn't finished with the subject.

"Anyway," Lucy continued. "I should head back and start packing for tomorrow."

Mirajane nodded. "Alright Lucy, I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early!"

* * *

First chapter done! Yay!

…That was a really short chapter. I might combine chapters 1 and 2 cause their both so short.

Ugh, I hate that ending. Endings are my weak spot. I'm kinda regretting the whole mira-match-maker thing but eh…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Snoring. Who was snoring…?

Lucy groggily opened an eye. What met her was a mess of pink hair. Shrieking, she grabbed Natsu's scarf and yanked him out of her bed. Natsu blinked open his eyes and grinned at Lucy. "Morning!" He said, oblivious to the look of death Lucy was giving him. "Natsu!" She pulled him to his feet, trying to push the boy out the door. Natsu sat down again.

"You can't do that!" Lucy snapped at him.

Looking at the bed longingly, Natsu got to his feet. "But it's comfy! And warm, and soft," he argued. His teammate shook her head. "And it's not your bed. Or your house. So get out, everyone's gonna leave soon." The fire dragon slayer blinked. "Can I have breakfast first?" He asked with a look to the kitchen.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "If you don't eat here, it'll be too late to eat anywhere else. Sure, grab a seat." She pulled a sleepy Happy from the bed and carried him to the kitchen, plopping the blue handful of fur in Natsu's lap, who had seated himself and taking in the kitchen's sites eagerly, even if he saw it almost as much as his own kitchen. Lucy laughed at his attitude and started to whip up some pancake batter, placing a pan over the stove.

Ten minutes later, two plates of steaming warm pancakes were set on the chestnut brown table, along with a plate of leftover fish for Happy, who refused to have anything else.

"Aren't you excited, Natsu?" Lucy asked as Natsu gulped down a fifth pancake. Cheek bulging like a chipmunk, the teen nodded his head vigorously. Lucy grinned. "I bet the hot springs are huge and really warm!" She fantasied.

A clock in kitchen struck eight o clock. The warm smile Lucy had on her face vanished. "Oh no! I only have half an hour to get ready!" She grabbed Natsu by the arm, -who had finished his sixth and final pancake-and happy by the tail, -who at the last second snatched up the fish-, and pushed them out the door, slamming it. Natsu licked the syrup off his fingers and headed off to the fairy tail guild.

Meanwhile, Lucy frantically had a shower and got dressed, making sure she had all her baggage. 25 minutes later, the key bearer dragged two bags down to the guild where everyone was waiting. Erza spotted her first and hurried over. She had equipped her outfit to knee length shorts and a tank top. "Lucy! You made it!" She said with a pat on the shoulder. "And with five minutes to spare," the weapon wizard added. Lucy smiled weakly and stuffed her luggage in the waiting carriage.

Levy flounced over, smiling. Behind her, grumpy looking Gajeel followed. "Hey." He waved absent-mindedly and turned to his cat, pantherlily, or known simply as lily. Lucy smiled at them. "So Gajeel, you choose to come?" She asked with a giggle. Gajeel gave her a sideways look.

"Well, droy 'n jet ain't coming, so shrimp here needs some replacement protection," the iron dragon slayer muttered. "Not that I care 'bout her or anythin'." He huffed. Lucy only gave a knowing smile.

Mirajane appeared with her stuff only minutes later. She smiled her signature smile and called everyone that was going over to explain some stuff.

"Ok, everyone will have either have their own rooms or will pair up with someone, unless something bad happens. If something does happen, like say, a hurricane or tsunami, either some rooms will pair up or we'll all take the biggest house in the place and stay in that one, ok?" There were some nods and awkward shuffling. Lucy blinked. Her vivid imagination started playing all the worst situations. She shook her head to clear the thought.

Mirajane nodded. "If you are pairing up with someone, I don't want any of the boys with the girls UNLESS it absolutely cannot be helped, alrighty?" A few people chuckled. The bartender cracked a grin before waiting for silence.

"Furthermore, I want no destroying anything. Or at least not a lot, knowing you guys. Please try to keep rough housing and fighting to a minimal." Her gaze turned cold. "Master will not want to have to be paying for damages." She warned darkly, the threat pointed at gray and Natsu. The boys nodded quickly and stood so stiffly, they could pass as statues. Mirajane's warm glow returned. "Alright, everyone into the carriage!"

"Urgh…"

Sighing, Lucy patted his head and tried to lull him to sleep again. Natsu made another face but closed his eyes and went back to sleep. She turned to Wendy. "You couldn't have cured him?"

The short girl shook her head unhappily. "It's not a long trip, and he knows that if I use it too much in a row, the effect wears off." She sighed with regret and watched Natsu try to sleep, resting on the blonde's lap.

Lucy followed her gaze with a weary smile. "You know, he is kinda cute when he's sleeping," she murmured. Wendy giggled. "He is," she laughed. Lucy watched Wendy grin in amusement at Natsu. He was such an older brother to Wendy, and she found it adorable.

"How many more hours?" A sickly looking Natsu asked, staring up at Lucy. Beside her, Wendy was resting her head against the window, fast asleep. The blonde girl blinked and looked down at him. "One," she said. Nodding, he closed his eyes. Lucy started to look out the window again. Natsu opened one eye. "Luce…" he called. She looked down. "Yea, Natsu?"

"Am I really cute when I sleep?"

Lucy blushed and looked away quickly, hands flying up to cover her face. "You heard me?" She asked quietly. The fire boy rolled onto his back, overcoming his sickness for just a minute. "Oh, you said that? I thought that was Wendy," he smirked. Lucy pulled her hands away. The pinkness in her cheeks had subsided to a light rose color, matching Natsu's hair. "Mhmmm," she nodded. He laughed. "Gimme an answer!"

Lucy looked at him. "Ok, you are a little cute when you sleep," she admitted, her cheeks heating up again. But Natsu didn't hear her. He was turned over again, his motion sickness back as he groaned and curled up. Lucy sighed in relief as she went back to stroking his head in order to make him feel at least a little better.

"Natsu, you can get up now, we stopped," Wendy said to a dreary fire Mage as the train halted in the station. He jumped up, his sparky attitude quickly returning. "Alright! Luce, we're here!" Lucy hardly had time to react before Natsu grabbed her and stood her up. "Lushee, we're here!" He repeated loudly. Lucy groaned. "Natsu, I know, I'm coming, I'm coming," she said and followed her teammate off the train, who couldn't be happier to be off a vehicle. Everyone waited outside as the last fairy tail members stepped off. Then mirajane gathered them all and they followed her to the cabins in which they were staying.

Stopping, the white haired woman clasped her hands. "I'll give you your rooms. "Levy, you and Lucy can have room 1," she said and handed Lucy the key. Handing a key to Natsu, she said "Natsu, you're gonna have room 2." Natsu grinned while Lucy sighed.

"Next, Gajeel, you get a room with gray." Gajeel eyed Gray suspiciously. Gray shook his head, defeated. Mirajane ignored them and handed Gajeel a key to room 3. "Juvia is in room 4." Juvia grinned and shot a tempting smile at gray, who was looking the other way and missed it. "Last, Erza, Wendy and I are in the last room," She smiled. "Ok, go get unpacking!"

As levy piled a stack of books on the floor, Lucy dumped pens, pencils and paper on the desk on the far right of the room. She sighed at a half written page and turned to her friend. "I don't think we've ever shared a room levy, just us two girls," Lucy laughed. Levy shook her head. "No, unless you count that one time when we all got really drunk." Levy agreed with a lighthearted chuckle.

Lucy sighed contently. "But, knowing mirajane, she'll probably have all the girls playing stuff like Truth or dare in her room. She got the biggest, you know."

The blunette nodded. "Or all of us playing spin the bottle," she giggled. Lucy blushed. "That would be horrible! What if I had to kiss gray? Juvia would drown then slaughter me!" She gasped.

Levy burst out into fits of laughter. When she recovered, she sat up. "And what about Natsu?" Lucy rolled her eyes. "Natsu wouldn't even play, and besides, he can't kiss," She assured, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

There was a knock on the door. Levy pulled it open. Outside were Erza and Wendy in swimsuits. Wendy was holding a beach ball. "Everyone's at the beach, you two wanna come?" Erza asked. Lucy jumped up. "Of course! We'll get ready and meet you there!" She said and began rummaging through her clothes. Levy smiled and nodded. "Sure, you guys go ahead."

"Oooh, silver or rainbow? My black and hot pink one is nice too." Lucy fretted, holding up three pairs of bikinis. Levy laughed, pulling on her own purple-and-white-swirled one-piece. "I don't why it matters Lu-chan, you'll look great in any bikini," the blunette insisted. "Besides, if you really want to impress the boys, gray likes your silver one and Natsu loves the rainbow one," she suggested. Lucy gawked at her. "How do you know that?" The blonde demanded. Levy smiled mischievously. "Well, books are a good cover for listening to conversations," she grinned.

Lucy smirked. "And I'm willing to bet that the one you're wearing is the one Gajeel likes best?" She guessed. Levy blushed. "It's not! I just like it a lot…" Lucy shook her head. "You suck at lying."

Her blonde hair swished as she pulled on the black and pink swimsuit. Levy sighed. "Lets go," She pulled the blonde out the door, happy to drop the topic.

* * *

Ugh I really suck at chapter endings. Oh well. If you haven't been able to tell, this fanfic is more of Lucy's view.

So yea! Hopefully chapter 3 will be longer and have a little bit more of NaLu, because hell, I'm bad at NaLu. Eh.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Wendy, pass over here!"

"Ok Levy!"

"Le-chan! I'm open!"

"Coming Erza!"

Erza kicked the soccer ball high into the air, sending it far into the ocean. "Aww," Wendy complained, watching it splash about a mile into the sea. Gray, who had been watching, laughed. "Man, Erza, don't you know the meaning of holding back?" He smirked. Erza's face turned crimson, matching her tied-up hair. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Farther off, Juvia peered out from behind the tree. "Gray-samaa," She called softly. Gray turned and looked around.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia repeated again. The ice mage frowned but finally spotted her behind the tree. "Juvia?"

Juvia stepped out, wearing a cute blue and white swim suit. "Juvia wore it just for you, Gray-sama," the water girl explained as she tapped her fingers together and stared at the ground.

"The blue and the white are like you and Juvia, we go so well together. Don't you think, Gray-sama?" She asked and looked up. Gray was gone. Shocked, Juvia scanned the area for her 'loved one'. She found him having an eating contest with Gajeel at the bar, having completely missed everything Juvia said.

Lucy frowned. Waist-deep in the water, she wadded in a little further. Mirajane watched her from the towel she was sun tanning on. "Lucy, what's up? Something wrong?" She asked.

Lucy turned around. "Oh no, I'm looking for a really pretty seashell to take home," the female mage explained. Mirajane giggled. "Oh, good luck then!"

As she sunk deeper into the water, the celestial wizard began to let her mind wander.

When she had found out that Lisanna wasn't coming, she had been disappointed, yes, but there had been something else. What was it?

And where was Natsu? She hadn't seen him at all when she had been on the beach. _Maybe he just didn't want to come,_ she decided. Wait, why did she even _care_? Yea, he was her best friend, but didn't have to hang around her twenty-four seven.

"Hmm…" she pondered that as she picked up a dark shell, it's rims tinted with ice blue marks.

Turning it over, the blonde threw it back, not liking it that much. Another shell caught her eye. She plunged her hand in and snatched it up. It was a plain brown with grey specks. No, not this one either. Lucy sighed and chucked it as far as she could.

Soon as she did, another shell caught her eye. Light orange and white mushed colors covered its edge. It was a classic spiral shell, like the ones in the movies. Picking it up, Lucy decided that maybe this would be the shell to bring home. It was so pretty and she loved it. The blonde turned, ready to head back with her prize.

A breeze tousled her hair and made the water ripple. The girl shivered. She was now up to her chest in water, the bikini top half soaked.

Suddenly, Lucy's foot caught on something underwater and she was sent flying, belly-flopping face first into the water. The seashell flew off to the east, and disappeared into the water.

"Oh yuck, seaweed!" Groaning, the - Now soaking wet - key holder pulled herself out of the water, wiped the seaweed from her face, and turned around to examine whatever annoying item decided to make her fall and distract her from getting the perfect seashell.

Before her lay the most amazing shell ever. Only partly jutting out of the sand, it was a salmon pink with streaks of orange and red lining the sides. It was shaped kinda like a clamshell would with one side missing. Lucy scooped it up instantly and held it to the light. It was chipped and cracked in some places and about the size of her whole hand. She grinned. THIS was the seashell she wanted. This shell was awesome, even if the color combination struck her as odd.

"Mirajane!" Lucy called as she scrambled back onto the shore. "Mira-nee! I found one! Look Mira-chan!" She waved it in the air. Mirajane sat up groggily. "Lucy, I was sleeping!" She complained. The celestial mage paid the take-over wizard no attention to her complaint. "Mira-chan, look at it! It's beautiful!" She gushed.

Mirajane squinted at the shell. "Lucy, it's lovely!" she giggled. "Oh look, Natsu's here!"

By then, Natsu had made his way over. "Lushee!" He called. Lucy looked over at him. "Lucy, why didn't you tell me everyone was going to the beach? I woke up and no one was here!" He frowned.

Lucy laughed. "You've been sleeping this whole time?" He nodded sulkily. The blonde laughed again. "That explains _everything_," she grinned.

The fire mage glanced downwards at her hand. "You found that?" He asked, gesturing down to the shell. Lucy smiled. "Yea, it's my souvenir for the trip," she explained happily. Natsu grabbed the shell and stuck it on his head, dancing around. "Look! It's my hat now!" He laughed, dancing around. Lucy grabbed at it, protesting. "Natsuuu! Give it back!" She cried, reaching out.

Natsu laughed and danced away, his female friend chasing him, yelling for him to give it back _now_.

"Hey, Gajeel," levy said, spinning around in her seat. On her right, Gajeel was munching on a sandwich. To her left, Lucy sipped on a pineapple-mango-strawberry smoothie.

Both looked up to where levy was pointing. "Look at that bird," she smiled, following it with her finger. Gajeel laughed. "You interrupted my snack for a bird, shrimp?" He questioned.

Levy shrugged. "It's a cool bird," she argued. Lucy went back to her drink. Juvia wandered up to them. "Mirajane told Juvia to tell everyone that dinner will be ready soon." She said.

Gray turned around in his chair, looking up at the bird. "Hey, I recognize that type of bird…" he muttered, unaware of his missing pants and shirt.

"You do?" Levy asked, interested. Gray nodded. "It's a…hm…" he furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. Juvia embraced him. "Oh gray-sama! You can remember! Juvia knows you can!" She cheered. The ice mage blinked.

"Oh! It's a sukuma-sallow," he realized. "Why is it out here?"

Lucy stopped drinking. "What's so weird about a sukuma out here?" She inquired. Gray leaned back into his chair. "Oh, they mean a storm's coming," He explained coolly. "They're up north a ton, and they warn us 'bout blizzards and stuff."

Lucy twirled her drink. Juvia narrowed down on her. "Are you trying to remove gray-sama's attention from me, love rival?" She demanded hotly. Lucy curled up on her seat. "No! I'm not!" She protested. Juvia narrowed her eyes. "Gray-sama's love is _mine_," she hissed. Gray looked over. "Yo, Juvia, she's only asking a question," he interrupted. Juvia turned. "C'mon, you leave her be, and I'll sit beside you at dinner." He promised. The water girl fainted from happiness on the spot.

Lucy smiled at gray. "Thanks gray. You didn't need to sit next to her to help me, though." Lucy informed him with a smirk. Gray shook his head. "Wasn't for you." He grunted.

The girl blinked. "Eh?" The ice mage averted his gaze. The blonde examined gray's face, eyes adjusting to the growing gloom. Natsu had fallen asleep against the table; levy and Gajeel had carried the sleeping Juvia inside. "Look, I just kinda wanted to sit beside her, ok? Is there anything wrong with that?" He snapped quickly.

Lucy stared at him. Was he… _blushing__?_ She gasped. Sure enough, gray was blushing a dark cherry color. Lucy chuckled then answered his question. "No, nothing, it's just really sweet of you." She finally told him. Gray smiled at the ground.

"Gray-sama! Lucy! Dinners ready!" Juvia had reappeared on the deck, waving her arm. "Don't forget who you're sitting beside, gray-sama!" She reminded him.

Gray laughed and jogged off. Lucy watched him go. "I'll be up with Natsu in a minute, Juvia!" She told the blunette. Juvia nodded and disappeared into the house, dragging gray with her. The blonde sighed.

Tuning to her left, she shook Natsu awake. "Natsu, it's almost dinner time," She said. Natsu's head shot up. "It is?" He asked. Lucy nodded. She eyed him suspiciously. There was something off about him. Then it hit her. "Natsu! Where's happy?" She asked in surprise. The little cat was usually beside the fire boy at all times. Natsu rolled his eyes. "The little traitor's been with Carla all day," He huffed. Lucy giggled. "Oh? So you haven't seen him since you woke up?" He nodded. "Yea."

Sighing, the fire mage looked up at Lucy. The celestial mage looked back at him. They locked eyes. Natsu stared at Lucy, his onyx pupils seeming to examine her entirely. Lucy held her gaze, wondering why Natsu was watching her so closely, but it was hard to rip her eyes away. Finally she broke free from his stare. "What was that for?" She gasped. Natsu nodded. "Yea, you are weird." He said finally. Lucy frowned. "Seriously? That's what that stare was for? You're-"

"Lu-chan! Natsu! Dinner time!" Levy called. Natsu's face lit up. He took off, racing across the sand and up the stairs. Lucy followed. Levy stopped her before she went in. "So, what happened?" She inquired. Lucy shook her head. "I don't get what you expect happened. I asked where happy was, that's it," She shrugged and sat down at the table. Natsu was happily gobbling down what looked like chicken on fire.

Lucy smiled at Wendy beside her. "I heard you helped Mirajane make this," the blonde approved. Wendy nodded brightly. "Uh huh! I did! It was really fun too," she told Lucy. Lucy giggled. "We saw a sukuma bird outside," she said, remembering.

_They come before storms_ gray had told them. _Blizzards and stuff_. Lucy paused. Wendy stopped to look at her. "Lucy? What wrong?" The small girl asked her with concern. Lucy shook away her thoughts. "It's nothing," she lied.

But her mind couldn't stop to that one worry she had.

_What happens if a snowstorm does hit here?_

* * *

Hahahahahaha and cue the worst cliffhanger ever :3

Oh, and those shells have a meaning. Can you figure it out?

Bleh, gruvia is hard to write.

Yes, there's not NaLu yet, I'm sorry, and I feel like I've been pushing Natsu away from Lucy completely. But it's hard to make the characters do what you want sometimes!

Noo that ending scene with Natsu I didn't like it, it had no meaning I'm sorry I'm sorry I'll try harder!

And I promise chapter 4 will be much longer, mkay?

Well, I should probably wrap this up.

Toodles!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi guys! thanks for all the reviews, that rocks! ^^

oh and good job to AnimeDAngel for figuring out what the shells mean! yup, they're the couples, minus the brown one, which represents that writer from episode 49: The Day Of The Fateful Encounter.

* * *

Levy was awoken by a loud shriek.

Startled, she fell out of bed. Fearing the worst for her roommate, she flailed over to the bed across from hers.

She reached Lucy's bed, still unable to see due to drowsiness. Lucy was sitting up, breathing heavy, and looking startled but unhurt. Levy pulled herself to her knees and looked up at the bed. "Lu-chan, what happened?"

Lucy groaned and glared at the spot beside her. "Well, I woke up," she explained hotly. "And found this!"

She threw the bed sheets aside. Underneath, a curled up Natsu mumbled something and made a grab for the covers.

Lucy groaned. "How'd he even get in?" The celestial mage asked.

Natsu frowned. "You didn't lock the door," he murmured, eyes still closed.

Levy giggled. "Oh Natsu, you really love any bed of Lu-chan's, don't you?" She laughed. Natsu smiled.

Lucy bashed him on the head. "You're such a little creep!" She hissed, pushing him out of the bed. "Aye…" happy agreed, falling onto of Natsu. "You were here too?" The blonde cried. "Aye…" the blue exceed repeated.

Lucy groaned.

"So, what are we doing today Luce?" The fire mage asked, finishing his breakfast.

Lucy rolled her eyes, resting her head on her hand. "I don't know about you two," she waved a hand in the air towards the boy and blue cat, "but me and levy-chan were planning to go shopping today." She informed them.

Levy nodded. "Yup! All day just cruising, shopping, trying on clothes, buying clothes…" she trailed off. Natsu looked up at Lucy. "Can we come?" He asked. Lucy blinked at him. "You want…to come…shopping?" The female stared at him in surprise. Her best friend nodded. "Sure! If we get bored, we can head back," he suggested. "Aye sir!" Happy nodded. "I can get fish!" He added. Levy patted him on the head. "There's fish in the ocean, you know," she notified him. Happy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Mhmm," levy nodded. The blue exceed jumped up. The blunette pulled him back down. "After shopping," she told him. Happy nodded vigorously.

Ten minutes later, all four were heading out into the small town beside near where they were staying. Natsu floated around the girls, staring at shops here and there. Lucy and levy stopped at a shoe store.

The fire boy deadpanned. Lucy smiled at him. "Hey, Natsu, the market's right there," she told him. Natsu shook his head. "I'll stay with you guys," he announced. His teammate blinked. "Are you sure? What makes you wanna go shopping with us?" She asked in a puzzled tone. He shrugged. "I just feel like it, ok?"

She nodded. "Alright," the girl smiled at him and hurried after levy inside. Natsu grumbled and followed, happy muttering and following him.

Much to the dragon slayer's shock, it took the two girls an hour just to pick out a pair of shoes. "An hour," he grumbled as they exited. Lucy rolled her eyes. "You wanted to come in with us, Natsu." She reminded him. The fire boy huffed. "Yea, whatever,"

"Look, if you wanna go home, you can," levy said.

Natsu shook his head. "Nah, I wanna see how girls act doing girl stuff, like girl shopping." He replied. The blonde groaned while the blunette laughed. "_That's_ why you followed us in? Why you came?" She inquired.

Natsu shrugged. "Yea, well, I lost a bet with gray and this was my punishment. And I actu-"

Lucy slapped him. "That's why you came?" She demanded, steaming with rage. Natsu backed up a little. "No, I didn't fi-" he was cut off as Lucy spun around and stormed off. Levy gave the boy a look of regret and pity then scurried off after her friend.

Natsu slapped his hand to his forehead then began to trudge back. Happy walked beside him. "Why didn't you say that you also wanted to hang out with them?" He asked his best friend. Natsu stared ahead darkly. "I _was_ going to," he explained with a hollow voice. "But she cut me off."

"Aye…" happy said sulkily. The dragon slayer humphed. "C'mon happy, lets go back." He told the exceed. "Shouldn't you talk to Lucy?" The blue cat asked.

Natsu shrugged. "Maybe," he grunted irritably.

Silently, which was unusual for the fire mage, they walked home.

•••

Meanwhile, Lucy was starting to regret getting upset at Natsu. She sighed and stared at a hot pink skirt hanging up. Levy gave her a pitied look. "You don't usually get _that_ upset with Natsu, do you?"

The key bearer shook her head. "No," she sighed. "Besides, I should've guessed that for him to come shopping with us, there had to be another reason."

Levy glanced at the ground. "Well, he had a second reason too," she began quietly.

The blonde stared at her. "Eh? Oh, you're right, he did, I cut him off before he could tell us the other reason he came."

She stared up at the dress. "I'll go talk to him after shopping I guess," Lucy decided. Levy smiled. "That sounds great," her friend agreed.

•••

Erza fiddled with her fork. She sighed and stared into the distance. As usual, there was nothing to do.

Mirajane and Wendy were off planning and preparing the next few meals, which they seemed to enjoy doing.

Gray was off at the beach again, with a water mage following his every move.

The two girls, levy and Lucy, were off shopping with Natsu, though Erza had no idea how he got dragged into that.

There was Gajeel, but Erza wouldn't hang out with him and vice versa.

"Didn't you hear? That guild that goes around stopping dark guilds, is in town," a girl to Erza's right gossiped. "No way! Crime sorcierè right? You think we'll see them?" Her friend responded.

Erza stopped dead. The girl dropped her fork on top of the unfinished strawberry cake. She stood quickly, slamming a few bills on the table before taking off along the road. She didn't miss the last girl's comment though.

"No, we won't see them. They're never anywhere where someone could meet them. You'd be lucky to even know where to look," she had stated.

Erza kept running, panting slightly. _Jellal…Jellal is in town?_ She wondered with slight hope. The mage zipped past another corner, darting through a dimly lit alleyway.

The road darkened as Erza turned another corner, completely missing the cloaked figure straight in front of her. She slammed headfirst into them, knocking them off their feet.

The two of them flew into a wall with a loud crash. The figure sat up, the cloak hiding his or her face falling off. Erza blinked and sat up. "Meldy?" She asked in surprise. Meldy brushed off her cloak. "Erza? What are you doing in a place like this?"

_Looking for Jellal_. The armored mage bit her tongue. "Exploring," she lied. "But I could asked you the same thing."

Meldy sighed. "I was just going to look around town," she explained, standing and helping Erza to her feet. "C'mon, I bet Ultear and Jellal would like to say hello to you."

After a small walk through even darker paths, the two came to a little shelter with a fire crackling. "Jellal? Ultear?" Meldy called out. "Oi, Meldy, you're back already?" A male voice called from what looked like half a tent. "What happened to sightseeing?" A smooth female voice asked.

Meldy glanced at Erza. "Well, I ran into a friend," she coughed and corrected herself. "Well, more like _she_ ran into _me_." The pink haired girl corrected.

Ultear appeared out of her tent. "Oh! Erza! It's you? I haven't seen you for a while!" She gushed, giving a very formal greeting and knocking the redhead's breath out with a hug. Jellal stuck out his head. "Erza? How'd you know that we were in town?" He smiled at her as he asked, obviously pleased to see her.

"I heard some things," she replied. The blue haired boy nodded. "Come sit down and we can catch up on some things," he invited, patting the ground beside him.

Ultear yawned. "Well, I wanna see the town now too," the time wizard smirked, starting to walk away. Meldy slyly grinned at Erza and Jellal before following Ultear. "Ultear! Wait up! I didn't get to see it either! I'm coming with you!"

And then Erza and Jellal were alone. For a minute they sat in silence, only listening to the retreating footsteps of Meldy and Ultear.

"So, what have you been doing lately?"

It was Erza who spoke first. Jellal poked at stick at the fire, avoiding eye contact. "The usual. Fighting dark guilds, hiding from the council, _surviving_, you know, what I always do," He answered. "How about you?"

Erza smiled. "As per usual as well. Keeping Natsu and Gray from fighting, going on quests, eating cake," she replied. "I almost forgot how much you love cake." the blunette laughed, fiddling with his fire stick again.

The girl sighed contently. "How long are you planning on staying in town?" She asked. Blinking, Jellal again poked the fire. "We'll be gone by night," he answered. "Oh." Erza replied, sounding disappointed.

"Hey, Erza?"

His redhead friend looked up. "Yea?" She asked softly, turning her gaze to Jellal. He paused then looked up at Erza. "I have to tell you the truth," he began. "Look, last time, at the beach…"

Erza raised her hand to silence him. "Look… Jellal?" He blinked at her. The red head sighed. "You are a terrible liar."

There was an eerie silence, even quieter than when Ultear and Meldy had left. Erza lowered her hand, as quiet as everything else. Jellal stared at her. "S-sorry, I shouldn't have lied about being engaged…"

He trailed off, looking down at his hand, which was being held firmly by the redhead. Not too firmly, because well, that would break some bones but firm enough to give reassurance. "It's ok. You had to do what you to do," she gave him a warm smile, filling his heart with a good feeling. "Erza…"

"Hey! We're back!"

Ultear and Meldy stopped. Before them was their teammate and Erza, hands clasped, locked eyes and completely unaware of anything but each other.

Ultear glanced at Meldy, who giggled. Her small giggle instantly broke the spell on Erza and Jellal, who blinked at each other then turned to the two girls watching them. "Oh! Um, sorry, I was um, just uh…" Erza stuttered helplessly, ripping herself from the blunette with a face as red as her hair. Jellal stared at the ground with a matching blush. Ultear snickered. "Well,_ lovebirds_, if you're done, Erza should head back. There's some pretty evil looking clouds coming from the ocean, and I'd prefer to leave before they hit," she frowned.

The re-quip mage blinked. "Clouds?" She asked in confusion. Meldy nodded. "There might be a storm," the pinkette warned.

Erza stood up. "Alright. It was nice seeing all of you again," she smiled at them before walking down the alley. Just before the woman disappeared around the corner, she stopped and looked back at Jellal. "Oh, and warn me whenever you're in town." She said before walking out of sight.

•••

"Erza? Is Natsu back yet?" Lucy asked, catching up with the redhead just before Erza headed into the building. "I haven't seen him…" Erza admitted, looking around. The blonde bit her lip. Erza noticed her friend's tension. "Lucy, what do you need Natsu so badly for?" She questioned.

Lucy sighed. "I got really mad at him," she told her. Erza shook her head. "Don't you usually? Besides, "she added with a shrug, "You know Natsu. Wouldn't he have forgotten by now?"

"It's a different kind of angry, and I feel like I need to apologize," The celestial mage retorted quickly.

The red head looked up at the sky. "He's probably picking a fight with gray or off eating something, so try the beach," she suggested.

Lucy nodded. "Thanks Erza!"

She bolted away towards the beach. Erza looked up to more feet approaching. "Hello levy," Titania greeted the blunette. "Hi Erza! Where's Lu-chan?" The shadow gear member asked.

Erza nodded towards the beach. "Off to apologize to Natsu," she answered. Levy's eyes lit up. "Oh good," she sighed in relief. "She's been worrying all day about it."

Cracking a smile, Erza pushed open the door to her room. "She complains about Natsu being dense to relationships, and she's just as dense to her feelings," the scarlet chuckled lightly, earning a small giggle from the petite girl beside her.

"Erza-chan!" A voice called from inside the cabin. Erza smiled at levy. "I'll see you later." Levy dipped her head in agreement. "At dinner probably," she mused, turning to walk down to the beach.

As she disappeared, levy wondered why Erza was so happy.

Down at the beach, Lucy looked around. "Gajeel!" She barked, catching the iron dragon attention. "Oh hullo Lucy," he greeted her through a mouthful of what looked like a couple of spoons. "Where's Natsu?" Lucy asked impatiently. Gajeel frowned. "Flame head? Wasn't he with you today?"

_Geez, news spreads_ _fast,_ Lucy thought with a shudder. "Well yes bu-"

"Then how should I know?" Gajeel snorted, going back to his meal of cutlery.

"Juvia knows where Natsu-san is," a voice piped up. Lucy's eyes lit up. "You do? Where?" She demanded. The water mage pointed across the beach. "Fighting with gray-sama," she answered.

Lucy followed Juvia's finger and watched the fire mage successfully rip of his opponent's boxer's, much to the dismay of her eyes, although she was used to _that_ happening. "Thank you Juvia," Lucy thanked her, turning to her brawling teammates.

"_Natsuuu_!" The Heartfilia daughter hollered, striding up to the fighting men. Both paused. "Oi, hi Luce," Natsu said nonchalantly. Lucy reached up and grabbed him by the ear. "C'mon," she ordered. "We need to talk."

Natsu followed as much as he could as Lucy dragged him off. He gulped inwardly, wondering why she needed him so urgently. When Lucy decided that they were out of earshot, she stopped, Natsu falling onto his butt.

"Natsu," The blonde called his name, looking him in the eyes. Natsu stared back. There was a pause. Lucy sucked in her breath. "I'm sorry for earlier." She apologized.

Natsu cocked his head, trying to remember why she would be apologizing. _Oh right, this morning, while shopping, _he thought_. She's still worried about that?_ He blinked. "Oh no biggie, I should have told you why I came with you guys but honestly," he looked down, feeling bashful suddenly.

Lucy watched him with concern; he wasn't usually reluctant. "Honestly what?"

"I did actually wanna come with you guys," he admitted quickly, getting up. He swore he saw pink in his partner's cheeks as he stood.

Lucy blinked. "You did? Aw, Natsu that's really sweet of you!" she gushed. The pyro waved his hand. "Yea, whatever, I've gotta finish this fight with gray."

And with that, he was off, leaving Lucy alone on the beach. The blonde's eyes drifted up to the sky.

"Woah," she gasped. "Those are pretty big storm clouds…"

* * *

And it's done! Finally! Longest chapter yet, too. I wasn't planning to make it this long but y'know, you start typing and suddenly you can't stop!

That jerza section came to me and I couldn't help myself, I'm sorry.

(But hey, it's jerza, shouldn't that count?)

Next chapter is truth or dare!

(Evil mind at work)

Of course it'll only be the girls playing cause what fairy tail boy is gonna play truth or dare? (And I just don't want the boys there -giggle-)

I dunno when this is placed, probably just before the grand magic games, cause Ultear is still…

Wait, what?

Christ I dunno, I started writing this chapter before I read that Ultear did the lost time thingy…

So it's after, but lets pretend that she ate something and poof she's young again.

Because I really like Ultear.

And I'm too lazy to change the story.

Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

The steam bath rooms are loosely based off of something my friend made in Minecraft. (It was pretty flipping awesome)

Anyway, I'm hoping this'll be as long as the last but no promises.

Part way through making this I forgot about the exceeds and had to rewrite a lot. I'm ashamed of myself…

* * *

"I heard the steam baths are the best!"

Lucy nodded to an excited Wendy before replying.

"Ah, they are, they're really warm and everything!" She said joyfully.

"Lucy-San, you've been here before?"

"Once, on a business trip with my father." The celestial mage answered.

"Erza-San, you can change out of your armor now," the quiet voice of the water mage advised Erza scarlet.

"Oh, of course."

The five girls and one shecat headed down through the spa, down to the steam baths. The interior was amazing. Waterfalls of warm water spilled from bamboo shoots into concrete streams, which flowed into the large baths. Lamps clung to the walls and all of it was brightly lit up.

"Woah…" everyone breathed. "It's even prettier than I thought!" Wendy smiled. Carla nodded. "Yea, I'm impressed.

Ten minutes later everyone was lounging peacefully in the hot waters of the baths, enjoying themselves and making small talk.

"I'm quite proud of the boys," Erza mused, sinking lower into the water. "They've managed to not destroy anything yet."

The blonde across from her nodded. "I guess they can be careful when they want to."

•••

Back at the Inn, Gajeel slurped on a smoothie. It was his favorite kind, savory but not sour with a hint of sweetness and a bit of iron blended in. Beside him, pantherlily ate a kiwi. They were approached by gray, which sat down beside the iron mage and ordered an ice shake.

Pfft. Ice shake. What was so great about flavored crushed ice in a glass? It wasn't even a real drink! Gajeel rolled his eyes and started draining his _real_ drink.

Gray watched Gajeel slurp down his drink. What kind of person got a smoothie that wasn't even that sweet? Wasn't coffee for that kind of thing? And metal? Seriously, this guy had too much metal in his brain already.

Thus began the Gray-and-Gajeel-drink-stare-down.

Until Natsu interrupted, Happy tailing behind him.

His cocky look said his plan too easily. Right away gray and Gajeel knew what he planning.

"No," they objected in sync.

The pyro's look vanished. "C'mon!"

Gray deadpanned. "Mirajane is watching us, charcoal brain. She'll punish us if we so much as get near the spa," he explained. The iron dragon slayer snorted. "Besides, I'm perfectly fine here."

Natsu started to protest, but gray cut him off. "Natsu. Would you spy on Erza?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "No. She would kill me if she caught me, and she's like our older sister."

Gray nodded. "Would you spy on Wendy?"

Natsu shook his head so fast Gajeel could only see a pink (salmon!) topped blur. "No way!" He objected. "That's being a pedophile!"

The ice mage raised an eyebrow. "Would you spy on levy?" He noticed Gajeel stiffen greatly beside him.

Natsu looked at iron mage and gulped. "N-no." He answered.

"Last question. Would you spy on Juvia?"

The son of igneel puffed out his cheeks. He looked down at gray. "Not really," he answered truthfully. "She just doesn't appeal to me."

As soon as the words left his mouth he realized that he had walked into a trap.

Gray and Gajeel's grins couldn't be missed. "I knew you had the hots for Lucy!" Gajeel taunted. "It's not like that!" The other dragon slayer argued, averting his gaze as blood tinted his cheeks. And no Happy to bail him out. He doubted his exceed would even help.

"HA! No wonder you went shopping with her yesterday! So you could be beside her!" His teammate joined in. Natsu jumped up. "Shut up gray! That was a bet and you know it, frostbite!"

"Oi, are you asking to be punched?"

"No, but I think you are!"

Gajeel calmly moved his smoothie to the side so the bundle of wrestling men wouldn't smash it.

Mira came out later with snacks for them. As they sat panting and eating, the bartender frowned. "I think we should play a game later," she mused to herself. Gray just shrugged. Lily got up. "I think that's a great idea Mirajane." He approved. Mirajane smiled. "Thanks lily,"

Her gaze turned thoughtful before she turned.

"Ah, well, I'm going to go clean up. The girls should be back soon." Mirajane said before heading back to the inn. As she walked away, the boys could hear her muttering something like "Maybe truth or dare? Or we could just 'girl talk'…"

Gray grinned lightly after she had left. "Truth or dare huh?" he chuckled evilly, glancing at Natsu and Gajeel.

"Oh, levy-chan, can you do that for me?" Lucy asked levy as they dried off. Levy had used a _script magic 'warm breeze'_ to dry herself off. "Of course!" Levy answered, performing the spell on the blonde. "Thanks," Lucy patted her hair. "Usually I'd ask cancer."

"Juvia does not need the spell. Juvia is water, she can make the water evaporate," the blunette beside them explained, styling her hair into it's usual form.

"Carla's fur is short and dries fast, but what do Wendy and Erza do?" Levy asked.

Wendy smiled. "Well because I'm a dragon slayer, air flows around my body wherever I want it to. Just like how Natsu-kun can steam himself dry and Gajeel-kun's hair is harder than usual and slightly waterproof." She smiled then turned to Erza. "Are you sure about this Erza-San?"

Erza nodded bravely. "Yes."

"O-ok," Wendy sucked in her breath.

Lucy looked at levy, startled. "Is sh-"

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

A tunnel of wind directed at Erza sent all the girls flying. When they had gotten back up, they noticed that Erza had not moved an inch and her hair was blown in every direction. She quickly brushed it down. "Thank you Wendy."

The three other girls just stared in shock.

Erza turned to them. "Well?" She asked calmly, as if she hasn't just taken Wendy's strongest attack head on. "Should we head back?"

Lucy, levy and Juvia could only nod. Wendy however, seemed excited by what Erza had done. "Ah, Erza-san, that was great!" She smiled. Erza looked down at Wendy as they headed to the entrance. "Thank you Wendy."

Juvia pushed open the door to let the others out. As Lucy stepped outside, she shivered. "Is it just me, or has the temperature gone down?"

Levy nodded. "It has, it feels really cold now."

Carla frowned. "In that case, we should hurry back."

So, picking up the pace, the six females hurried along the streets, which were slowly being deserted as the townsfolk escaped from the strangely cold air.

They exploded into the inn right in front Mirajane. Surprised, the bartender jumped back. She recovered quickly from the shock though.

"Was it nice?" the white haired woman asked. Wendy lifted herself up. "Oh yes Mira-San! It was beautiful and the water was very warm!" The blunette chirped.

"Say, Mirajane, why didn't you come?" Lucy asked. Mirajane smiled. "I didn't feel like it, and besides, I needed to watch over the boys." She blinked to the door. "Um, is there a reason you all came rushing through the door so quickly?"

Levy nodded. "Yes, it's very cold," she explained. "Cold?" Mira repeated. Again the blunette nodded. "Yes, it feels like it's 0 degrees out there!"

The bartender gulped. "Oh no, maybe that's why the boys have been wandering aimlessly inside the inn." She groaned. "Well, supper won't be ready for another hour, why don't we do something in my room? I've got some stuff we can do."

Lucy noted later that she should've known not it wasn't the best idea. Mirajane wasn't called the she-devil just because of her takeover magic…

She wondered what the eldest Strauss had planned as they headed to Mira's room.

_Minutes in the past…_

"I told you, it ain't that bad!"

"That's cause your a ice mage, stripper!"

"No, it's cold to you cause you're a flame brain!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The two males were forehead to forehead, grinding their teeth in anger.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Salamander is right, though I hate to admit it. It's pretty cold out here. Colder than it should be, anyway."

Natsu laughed in triumph. "Lets go inside and see if dinner's ready!" He marched through the doors of the inn.

Exchanging a look, Gray and Gajeel followed him in.

"No," Mirajane told them calmly. "Dinner isn't ready and won't be for a while. Go do something else; the girls will be back soon. And no fighting."

So they trudged off, ending up in Mira's room.

"Why are we here?" Gray asked, eyeing the walls. "I dunno," Natsu shrugged. "We just ended up here."

"Where are the exceeds anyway?" Natsu's fellow dragon slayer asked out of the blue. "I don't know what lily and happy are doing, but Carla's with the girls." Gray answered.

"You don't even have a cat, gray! How do you know?" Natsu snapped. "Doesn't matter!" The ice mage shot back.

He sat down on the bed. Gajeel went to lean against the wall, but tripped and hit the drawer. It wobbled threateningly.

Natsu and Gray were on their feet in seconds, arms reaching out to stable it. So preoccupied with making sure the drawer didn't fall, they missed the lamp tip ever so slowly and gracefully fall and hit the ground with a bang and crunch.

They stared at it.

"Is…it…broken?" Natsu asked, breaking the silence. "I think it's ok," Gray responded, reaching over and gently plucking it up by a corner. It wasn't very much damaged, just…crooked. Gajeel puffed out his cheeks. "Oh well, that's that, put it back Gray, and let's go."

Gray gently placed the lamp on top of the drawer. It still looked crooked

He began walking toward the door when voices reached their ears. (Mostly Gajeel's and Natsu's, Gray wasn't a dragon slayer.)

"S-shit…" they all muttered. Natsu gulped. "Mirajane doesn't like people in her room!" He hissed.

Gray nodded. "She'll see us if we leave through the door!"

Gajeel started sweating. He had seen her demon form a few times, it wasn't pretty. (Ok, it _was_ kinda attractive pretty, just not kind, sweet, caring pretty.)

He grabbed the other two and shoved them into the closet, following close behind. Carefully, he quietly pushed the door closed as Lucy, Levy, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Erza and Mirajane filed into the room, laughing and chatting lightly.

They rustled around until they were partially in comfortable positions. Natsu crouched between Gajeel and the wall, Gajeel lying on back with his legs against the back wall and Gray propped against the other wall, his legs across Gajeel.

"Why'd you shove us in here?" Gray snapped at him, his voice barely a whisper.

"I was hiding us, idiot," Gajeel snapped back. "We'll just wait until the girls leave, then sneak out." He smirked. "Can't be too long."

* * *

Um, finished? Heh, I liked this chapter, it was fun to write. I do wish I had added more boys, but oh well. Though I wish I added Elfman, even if that means Lisanna. (I dunno, I'm not experienced with her character, it would be hard)

'_Minutes in the past_' is kinda a homestuck reference, as they would say 'years in the past/future' quite a bit.

And the whole closet thing is inspired by a ToraDora episode. Mm, I liked that show.

I went and rewrote a huge part halfway through because even though I liked it, I really wanted it to go this way, cause this way was the original idea. (I might post the other somewhere or maybe even make it part of a story, yay!)

Oh, I _so_ know that Natsu totally would spy on the others (it wouldn't be his idea first but he would), but it's way more fun like this.

Chapter 6 may or may not be a while, it's been harder to write and well, I hate to admit it but I've been obsessed with SnK, or Attack on Titan. It's _so_ good! (Too bad it just ended…)

But I'll try to write faster!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

So, yea, romance-y kinda chapter, fun!

It's my headcannon that Natsu gets and understands love, but chooses to ignore it. (Hey, he got _marriage_ when he was a kid, I think he gets love and crushes as a pre- adult)

Anyway,

On with the chapter!

((Extra note: if there's ever a word or words with / around them, it's so I know what to make italic. I write these on my iPod and it doesn't have that feature, so that's how I know. Just warn me if you find them))

* * *

"Levy! You actually snapped at Gajeel once?" Wendy gasped in surprise as she plopped down on the floor.

Levy nodded. "He didn't really get mad though," she admitted softly.

"That's 'cause he lllllikes you!" Lucy teased, causing Levy to blush and shake her head.

Wendy looked at Erza. "Erza, don't you like anyone?" The blunette asked curiously. The armored mage's face lit up in pink. "O-of course not!" She denied very stiffly.

Carla suppressed a grin. "Happy has told me otherwise."

All six heads snapped around to the exceed. "That little demon…" Erza hissed.

"Who?" Five voices asked.

Carla shrugged. "Happy said Erza was talking about some fiancé when Ultear, Meredy and Jellal came and helped us train before the games," she explained.

Erza looked ready to wear her heaviest armor and crash through the ground.

"She could be talking about gray, Natsu, Jellal, jet or droy," Lucy mused.

"Oh, hard," Wendy muttered.

Mirajane laughed. "It's simple! Which of those couldn't possibly have a fiancé?"

"…"

"So that means," Lucy gasped.

"It's gotta be…" Juvia chimed in.

A light bulb went off in every girl's head besides Mira (who had figured it out right away) and Erza.

"_JELLAL_?"

•••

"Hey flame brain, what are they talking about?" Gray whispered.

"I dunno, something to do with the training before the magic games and a fiancé," Natsu responded quietly. "All I heard was Jellal," gray scoffed.

Natsu smirked. "Wow, Erza looks ready to die." He chuckled, peeping out the crack where the door hadn't fully shut.

"_Huh_?" Gajeel and gray asked in shock. _The_ Erza? _Titania_?

The pinkette waved his hand as much as the closet space allowed him to tell the others to shut up. "Wait-wait-wait, Gajeel, I think they're talking about you!" He hissed. Gajeel blinked and tried to listen as well. "What are they saying?"

Natsu chuckled. "_Such a stupid weak mage," _he laughed_. "Glad he's not here–_ ow! Gajeel that hurt!"

"Weak my ass," Gajeel scoffed.

Gray rolled his eyes, his head dropping down.

_Oh why, why couldn't dinner be re-_

"It's not fair."

Gray's head shot up. He recognized the water mage's voice as she muttered those words quietly but just loud enough for the other girls to hear (and the boys!). Gray strained to listen.

"What's wrong Juvia?"

"Juvia…Juvia is really upset."

Gajeel was even listening intently now. Juvia _was_ his best friend (as much as he hated to admit), the only one he had from his past life at phantom lord. She…was like a sister.

"No matter what she tries, Gray won't ever see Juvia as more than…than a _guild mate_!" She whimpered.

Gray's eyes widened. He knew that Juvia had it for him, but he hadn't realized that he had been giving the cold shoulder…

"Not true," he muttered. The two dragon slayers glanced at him reproachfully.

"Shh, Juvia, we'll help you get gray to come to," Mira coaxed. Levy and Lucy nodded (though Juvia stared Lucy down, hissing something like 'love rival only wants to get close to gray!'), while Erza looked decisive. "Yes, a glorified death awaits if Gray fails to respond to your feelings." she said boldly. (In the closet, Gray shivered.)

"Juvia gives her thanks," the water mage smiled.

All pleased with the new mission, the girls sat back in silence for a minute.

"Is this what girls talk about?" Gray hissed at Natsu, ear to the wall. "Hell, I don't know!" The fire mage shot back. "I'm usually fighting you!"

Gajeel sighed. This was going to be a long wait.

•••

"Sooo, Lucy, who do you like?" Mirajane's soft voice sang out teasingly. Holding her head up, Lucy shook it, but no one missed the blush on her cheeks. "No one," she replied quickly.

Mirajane snickered.

"Are you sure…?" Levy snickered quietly. "Loke seems to really like you!"

Lucy blushed. "H-hey! I do not like Loke!" She argued. Levy shrugged. "I know, I know, I'm kidding."

The celestial mage sighed in relief just before Erza piped up. "Oh? What about gray then?"

If Juvia was anything other than a water wizard, Lucy swore she would've burst into flames.

"Erza," Wendy said quietly, "I don't think Lucy likes gray and besides, weren't we getting Juvia and him together?"

Mirajane laughed. "Whatever, it's obvious that she likes Natsu!"

There was silence as Lucy's face turned pink to red to scarlet.

"No!" She objected crossly. "I don't not!"

Levy giggled. "Lucy~ just admit it, everyone can see it!" She said in a high voice, slightly in song.

The blonde shook her head again, continuing to deny the pestering.

•••

"Shut the fuck up," Natsu hissed at Gray and Gajeel, who were trying to fight as quiet as possible. "I think it's about me this time!" He added excitedly.

Gajeel frowned. "Are you sure that's a good thing? They could be saying mean things."

Natsu shrugged. "I doubt that, and besides, who cares? Lucy and Erza are always telling me how immature and dense I am."

Gray shook his head. "Whatever, have fun being a creep," he sighed. Gajeel laughed. "Says the guy with his clothes off. How do you manage that in a cramped up closet anyway?"

"What the heck?"

Chuckling, the fire mage peered back out of the crack in the door. He could just see Lucy's face, as she was (to his point of view) behind levy and Juvia. Mirajane sat on bed beside Erza, and Wendy sat between Lucy and Juvia.

He squinted slightly. Lucy was blushing brightly. _What could've they have said?_ He wondered. Well, Juvia's face always went red when Gray was mentioned, so maybe it was the same thing! Well, his teammate wasn't Juvia and a lot of things made her blush, so…

"Come on Lucy! Admit it! You love him!"

_Love who_? Natsu furrowed his brows, his head going into overdrive. He wasn't good at romance, and he was kinda dense, but you couldn't ignore that. He wanted to know who Lucy 'loved', but maybe it was harmless teasing from the girls and she didn't love anyone.

But still…

He strained to listen. He could hear them all right, but he didn't want to miss anything. Gray and Gajeel whisper fighting wasn't helping much.

Lucy was talking now. "Not true! We're close, but not like that! Besides, teammates don't date." She protested.

Levy voiced Natsu's thoughts exactly. "Being teammates didn't stop alzack and biska."

_It could be gray_… he pondered lightly. _Are they teasing her about gray…?_

Somehow, it didn't fit quite right to Natsu. The teasing, Lucy loving Gray…their whole chemistry. The dragon slayer rolled his eyes. They would never work. Besides, thinking that way made Natsu wanna punch gray in the face. Hard.

_Maybe it's Loke then,_ he mused. Again, it didn't work. Lucy would be really annoyed by his playboy habits. Besides, he was a _spirit_. And didn't he and Aries have a thing?

Again that annoying feeling of wanting to punch someone (it was Loke this time) rose up in this chest. He flexed his fist

The answer however, was not one of those two.

"Just because he's always in my house doesn't mean I love him!"

"Aww, but Lucy, you and Natsu are so cute together!"

_Me?_ Natsu asked in his head. For a minute, he sat there in silence, dumbfounded.

Gajeel looked at him but didn't question. Gray did though. "Oi, flame brain, what the heck happened? You hear something too mature for you?"

"Yea right!" He snapped quietly. "I just heard something…that I didn't expect." The pyro turned back to the door, watching intently.

So, Lucy liked him?

_Wait_, called a voice in his head.

_They're just teasing her. It might not be true. _He pouted slightly at this thought. Why not? Didn't he want Lucy to be head over heels in love with h-

Woah. _Where did that come from?_

_Mm, but it's true~_ the voice teased. Natsu sighed. Maybe he was in love with his partner. She _was_ beautiful, really nice, strong (he rubbed his forehead at this thought. He could _still_ feel the bump from her last '_Lucy kick!'_), cool when she summoned her zodiac keys, smart, and the cute faces she made when she was confused melted his he-

Woah. Wait wait wait, that train of thought came out of _nowhere_.

He focused back on what they were saying.

"Guys! Stop it! I don't like Natsu, and Natsu definitely doesn't like me back!" Lucy protested, earning grumbles from the other girls.

The fire mage sat back, puffing out his cheeks. Damn, well, that settled things quickly.

But he swore he heard a sigh of regret in her voice…

Somewhere, a beeping went off.

"Oh!" Mira gasped and jumped up. "Dinner's ready, c'mon!" She grinned and fled the room, a chorus of chatter following her as the other girls left.

As soon as they couldn't be heard, the closet door swung open and the boys tumbled out, each jumping to their feet.

"Room to stretch!" Gray cried.

"Fresh air!" Gajeel grinned.

"_Dinner!_" they both exclaimed, about to charge out of the room, but then noticed the silent fire mage staring intently at his toes. Gray looked at him with a confused expression while Gajeel laughed. When the iron dragon slayer had stopped, he leaned down by Natsu.

"Don't worry about it too much, you idiot. Just…_show_ her that you two should make-out or something." Natsu glanced at him, wondering if he had actually heard the girls. As if reading his mind, Gajeel rolled his eyes. "I'm not deaf." He scoffed. "And if you weren't so dense, you would've realized…"

He trailed off and sniffed the air. Natsu inhaled deeply.

"Roast beef," the fire dragon drooled. Gray glanced at them, unaware of conversation that just taken place.

"With gravy," His iron mage companion agreed.

They bolted out of the room and the hall, gray catching on and racing after them. Nearing the dining room, Natsu was suddenly hit in the face by a flying ball of blue. Gajeel and gray screeched to a halt.

"Natsuuu!" The blue thing cried. "Oh, hi happy," Natsu grinned at his cat. Happy only pouted. "You were suppose to help me get fish from the ocean! Me and lily got out the fishing rods and went to find you and you were _gone_!" He sobbed. Natsu slapped himself mentally. Caught up with wandering the house because it was colder than usual and get stuck in the closet, he had completely forgotten about the fishing trip he had promised.

Behind happy, lily glared at Gajeel. Apparently the iron dragon slayer had forgotten _his_ trip with lily to go get him this kiwi juice he had seen. The pyro suppressed a grin.

He rubbed the blue exceed's head. "I promise to take you tomorrow as soon as I can, alright?" He offered. Happy looked up. "Really?" Natsu nodded. "Aye!" He mimicked the cat's favorite phrase. "Lets go eat dinner now ok?"

Happy cried in response. "Natsuuu! Don't copy me!" He wailed. Natsu chuckled and carried him to dinner.

* * *

Wow, that was _so_ much faster than I thought it would be! Koodoos to me!

Romance, hooray.

Oh and there. That's where the exceeds were.

I said that gruvia was hard to write! I hated that bit! Adsfgjdklslfask

ok. I'm calm.  
see you all next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Oh my god I am so sorry! This was suppose to come out way sooner but I was caught up in moving and we still haven't set up the computers and I just figured out how to do it mobile! I promise chapter 8 will be so much faster!

* * *

Lucy brushed a hand across her cheeks as the boys sat down at the table. Her face didn't _feel_ warm, but who knew? She could still be blushing from their teasing.

Natsu sat down beside her, looking distracted. Like he was thinking about something pretty hard. He didn't do that often, did he? Across the table, levy snorted and held back a giggle. Oh, so she thought that natsu sitting there was funny? Lucy would have to see about that.

Scowling, Lucy grabbed a spoonful of mashed potatoes and slapped them on her plate.

So distracted with her plan to get levy back, she didn't notice natsu staring at her with the same thoughtful expression.

Until she turned to ask him to pass the gravy.

His big onyx eyes met hers, his face only inches from hers. The fire mage blinked and grinned, completely unfazed by the sudden closeness.

Lucy yelped in surprise, recoiling and almost falling off her chair backwards. Natsu burst out into a loud laugh, causing everyone to turn and glance at them. Lucy flailed into an upright position and quickly straightened herself. Whoops, so much for everything about table manners she was taught by her parents.

"Lucy-san, are you alright?" Wendy inquired. Lucy nodded quickly. "Ah, yes, don't mind me!" She laughed nervously. Natsu glanced at her. "Are you sure? You don't sound alright."

When did he care so much?

She groaned inwardly. "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry." Before anyone else could object, the celestial mage continued eating.

Near the end of dinner, levy piped up. "I was wondering if everyone would like to come to Lu-chan's and mine to hang out. We've been spending so much time at Mira's, I thought that someone else could be the hosts." She smiled. "It is alright with you, right Lu-chan? I mean, it's your place too."

Lucy nodded. Yea, she didn't mind. Would've been nice if she had cleared up this plan earlier, but oh well.

"I'm in," Gajeel replied.

Gray nodded. "Sure, why not." He shrugged. As soon as he said 'sure', Juvia cried "If Gray-sama is going, so will Juvia!"

Natsu turned and grinned at Lucy. "Of course I'm coming!"

Erza nodded. "Yes, me, Mira and Wendy will be there." This prompted Mira and Wendy to sigh. Leave it up to Erza to choose for them.

Levy smiled. "Alright! We can go after dinner!"

It may have been her imagination, but the blonde swore that Natsu ate twice as fast after that.

A little while later, Mirajane cleared away the plates and everyone stood to go. "We have to hurry there," Levy instructed. "For some reason, the temperature is much colder, and I doubt any of you brought sweaters."

There was an "I told you so!" from one of the boys.

Lucy inhaled deeply, (being a bit over dramatic) and threw open the door. Everyone raced down the stone walkway, running as if zeref was chasing them and skidded to a halt at room 1. They had to wait for gray to show up because Erza had pushed him into a bush ("it wasn't a competition, Erza!") and he had struggled to get out.

Soon they were all collapsed on chairs and beds in the room. Levy put on a record lacrima and they took turns telling the magical music player what song they wanted.

After a minute of casual chatting, levy disappeared and reappeared with nine party hats. She gave one to each of them, including the exceeds.

Gajeel blinked at it. "Shrimp, this isn't a five-year-old's party." He grunted. Levy ignored him. "Everyone put them on." Hesitantly, they obeyed. Levy put on her own. "This is how the game works."

"The point is not to be the last one with a hat on." Everyone reached for their hat, but levy shot them down with a glare. "You can't take your hat off until _I_ do. So be watching. Sooner or later I will take it off." She grinned at them. "Now who wants to play _Honey I Love You?"_

_Honey I Love You_ was a game at the guild that they all knew, although they didn't play it much. It was a good game because it wasn't risky and embarrassing like Spin the Bottle or Truth Or dare.

They played like this:

Everyone got into two lines.

One person from one side had to pick someone from the other side.

The chosen person would have to walk over to that side, at every step saying, "honey I love you but you can't make me smile."

Obviously they couldn't smile.

If they did smile, they would have to stay on the opposite side.

The opposite side could do anything to make them smile, as long as they didn't make physical contact or move from the line.

The game ended when someone announces it finished or when no one is left on one side.

The side with the most people wins.

Because there was an odd number, Mirajane sat out as referee. She also sat out because everyone knew she had an advantage with her take-over magic. She could make anyone's face, and that just wasn't fair.

The exceeds helped, although they had to distract happy with fish, otherwise he would yell stuff to annoy the players.

Everyone got into lines. Lucy, levy, gray and Wendy were on the right, while Juvia, Erza, natsu and Gajeel stood on the left.

According to a coin flip from Mirajane, left had first move. Erza was caller.

"Gray!" She choose, to Juvia's dismay. _she_wanted to pick gray! Have him call her _honey_, oh what a dream! as if they were married! Juvia floated away in her thoughts, missing that gray had successfully made it across.

He spun around and headed back to his side as Wendy called out "Juvia!"

Juvia however, was still lost in her thoughts. A lovestruck grin was plastered across her face and she immediately struck out. That was ok for her though, because she got to stand beside gray.

Gajeel choose levy. No one was really sure why, Gajeel tended to terrify levy. But Levy started along, face solemn. "Honey, I love you but you can't make me smile," she repeated over and over. Gajeel did nothing. The blunette's face was starting to twitch as she reached the middle. Everyone waited with baited breath, but still Gajeel didn't make any attempt to amuse her. He didn't even move. She was nearing the other side now, five steps…four steps…three…

"Broken face!" Mirajane called out. Everyone blinked in surprise and peered at levy who's face was trying to twist back into a emotionless one, to no avail. Defeated, she went to stand beside Gajeel, taking off her hat to glare at it in annoyance.

Gajeel had made her smile by sheer willpower.

What?

Everyone was surprised, but they kept going.

Gray called Erza, who made it across by just a step. As soon as she was safe, the redhead burst out laughing.

Natsu picked Lucy. Lucy started across, but natsu imitating Loki being dramatic was really funny and she couldn't help but grin. She came to stand beside him as Mirajane subtly plucked off her hat.

Juvia called Gajeel. As he walked across, saying "Juvia, I hate you but you can't make me smile" (he didn't like the words 'honey' or 'love') Juvia acted out a person melting and earned a smirk from Gajeel.

Lucy called for Wendy and made faces until Wendy was on the floor laughing. As Wendy came to stand beside her, Lucy flicked off her hat.

The right side now had Gray, Gajeel and Juvia. The left side had Erza, Natsu, Levy, Lucy and Wendy.

Natsu grinned at Lucy then chose his pick of Juvia. Juvia advanced forward, grim faced. Lucy quickly reflexed on the fact that she used to never smile, and that she was probably very good at keeping a straight face.

Natsu started with making faces. When that didn't work, he tried acting out things. Still no reaction from Juvia. She made it all the way across without even flinching. Natsu _tch'd_ as gray took his hat off.

Gray pointed to Lucy and she started forward, catching a side glance at Natsu's almost fuming expression as she did the game requirements, wondering what his problem was. He didn't usually hate games.

Happy glanced up and took off his hat, prompting Lily to do so as well.

Maybe it was because gray wasn't that funny, or maybe because she was worried about natsu, but she made it across easily, as Juvia and charla slipped off their hats.

Gajeel chose Wendy. Lucy groaned inwardly. She was so going to laugh. But as Wendy walked, they noticed that Gajeel's techniques were a bit…strange. He acted out fights and pretended to be beating up natsu. Wendy clearly didn't find it funny and made across very easily and took off her hat with a grin.

Levy went to choose Gray who scoffed and walked across. There was a smirk from levy as she raised her magic pen and wrote out_tickle attack!_ with it. The attack hit gray dead in the stomach and he burst into a fit of giggles. Everyone stared.

Mirajane started to raise her hand but stopped, unsure if it was a foul or not. "She didn't touch him," Gajeel shrugged. There was a minute of silence. the bartender clicked her tongue. "Fair play. But only once." She decided. Levy grinned in triumph as natsu took off his hat.

Juvia pointed to Lucy who almost smiled at having to say 'honey I love you' to the water mage. She started to walk as—

"Erza lost!" Happy's voice rang out. Everyone turned to look at the redhead, trying to process what the exceed meant by 'lost'. They all got it at the same time. Erza's hat was still on. The only one with her hat on. Gajeel, the second last person, had only just remembered.

"Ah, right on time," Mirajane said. "Wendy should get to bed, it's getting late. Erza, you coming?"

Erza, defeated, nodded. The three plus charla exited the room. A chilling wind swirled around the room as the door shut. Lucy shivered.

"Wow, it's cold," levy commented, rubbing her arms. Juvia nodded. "Juvia's fingers are ice." She held them up, and everyone saw that they were actually frozen over.

"You guys are pansies," gray scoffed, in his boxers. Lucy facepalmed before turning to the boys and Juvia. "You guys are staying a while longer?" She asked.

"Aye!" happy cried. Gajeel nodded. "Yea, got a problem with it?" He smirked. Levy sighed, shaking her head. "I guess not."

Natsu grinned at Lucy. "Yea! Why not? I always stay at your place-"

"without permission," She cut in.

"-so I don't see why not!" He grabbed the blonde by the waist and spun her around, ignoring the shrieks of protest and her bright red cheeks. Happy circled them, laughing and teasing them with "they llllllike eachother_!_"

Lucy broke away. "Hey, natsu, where's your scarf?" She pointed to his bare neck. It was devoid of the pure white scarf (which Lucy noted, never seemed to get dirty. Maybe it was magic?) and was showing his scar.

"Oh," the fire mage glanced down. "I never noticed."

Everyone stared at him in horror. "Flame brain, last time you lost your scarf, you blanked out! How could you not notice?!" Gray gawked. Natsu grumbled something only Gajeel could hear. He laughed. "Yea yea, right, that's why, my ass."

The other dragon slayer glared at him before jumping up. "But now I _must_ find it!" He declared. "Aye!" Cried happy. "I guess I'll help," Lucy agreed, getting on her hands and knees. Levy smiled, her fingers twirling Lily's fur. The panther-like exceed had fallen asleep on her lap.

"Screw this, I'm going home, good luck finding it." Gray stood up.

Juvia jumped to her feet. "Juvia would like to walk Gray-sama home!" The blunette chirped happily, grabbing onto the ice mage, who only sighed. "Alright, Juvia…" gray agreed. Juvia squealed in delight. They left, Juvia never loosening her grip on Gray.

Another gust of wind chilled them as the duo left.

"You find it yet natsu? Everyone's going home," levy asked, her eyes flicking back and forth, watching natsu race around. Natsu shook his head. "No, but I'm not going without it!" He huffed. Gajeel laughed. "Whatever, flame brain. I'm going home." And with that, he exited the house. "It's not here either…" lucy groaned, crawling from under the bed.

Levy giggled. She patted panther lily on the head, then blinked at the sleeping exceed in her lap. "Oh! Gajeel forgot lily!" The petite cried and charged outside after the iron dragon slayer. Lucy grunted in desperation.

She sat down to take a break, watching her partner charge around the room, throwing things everywhere. Something out the window caught her attention and she stared. "Was that…? No, can't be." The blonde shook the thought from her mind, pulling her legs towards her. "Cold…"

Natsu was still racing around with happy, even coming to the point of going through the girls suitcases. "No! Don't touch that!" Lucy shrieked, pushing him away from her underwear and bra section. She swore she heard a "dammit," as he scuttled away.

•••

"Oi, it got even colder!" Lucy cried, staring outside. A suddenly wind blasted at the walls. Natsu grumbled something and kept digging around. "Stupid scarf."

After about half an hour, happy appeared out of nowhere, yelling, "I found it! I found the scarf! Not you Lucy! nananana!" He flew off and dropped it on Natsu's head.

"Oh, thanks happy!" Natsu grinned at his best friend. Happy grinned back. Lucy shook her head and headed to the door. "You guys can go now, here, I'll walk you ho—" opening the door, she was cut off as snow flooded in and around her feet.

"What?" Natsu turned to her. "It's snowing!" Lucy exclaimed. She closed the door and fell on her bed. "It shouldn't snow here," she mumbled angrily. "It barely snows in_Mongolia_ dammit, why is it snowing here?"

She heard a thunk as natsu sat beside her. "Oi, the summertime is much nicer." He replied. "I'm not talking about seasons, you dope!"

"Anyway," there was a sigh as she heaved herself from the bed. "You can't go home in this. I don't understand why the rooms are so far apart but it means that you have to stay here the night."

* * *

yay climax soon? I don't know, I don't exactly plan my stories.

Again, I'm really sorry about how long this took to put up ^^; feel free to yell at me heh.

Im kinda depressed because if you read the fairy tail manga, one of the latest chapters (356?) lahar (that council member who took jellal away and is super cool besides doing that) died and I really liked him T^T

oh and if youre wondering what natsu says that only Gajeel can hear, it was "not my fault Luce suddenly looks super different…"


End file.
